States Miss the Boat on Learning

Awhile back, I shared an article and commentary on the new Biden administration K-12 education policies.

Today, let’s examine what states are focused on regarding their K-12 policies moving into 2024.

EducationWeek online reported today that,

…

“More than half of state governors have signaled their K-12 priorities for the year during annual State of the State addresses over the last few weeks.”

“Many states, however, appear to be focusing on relatively low-cost initiatives – investments in reading instruction and salary bumps for school staff, for instances – rather than major upfront investments, said David Bloomfield, professor of educational leadership, law, and policy at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center.”

“Bloomfield thinks governors are holding back on big-ticket investments without directly saying as much.”

“’It’s easy to inveigh against the quality of teacher preparation and literacy instruction. You can throw a little bit of money into that, and call it an initiative,’ Bloomfield said. ‘But they’re pretty cost-free, whereas major initiatives such as pre-K and child care are too costly in the current environment.’”

…

“State supply roughly 45 percent of the funds school districts nationwide use to pay teachers, purchase supplies, and keep buses running. They have significant power to effect change in curriculum standards. And their policies around private school choice, charter schools, and school facilities play a major role in shaping the range and quality of educational options available to students.”

“That’s why governors’ State of the State addresses are important signals of changes schools can look out for in the coming years that could affect their budgets and day-to-day operations.”

“The research organizations FutureEd and the Education Commission of the States are documenting education-related topics that arise during governors’ speeches this winter. Here are a few key themes that have come up in several State of the State addresses in recent weeks, signaling that they’ll be major priorities across the country.”

“Focus on reading instruction”

“The nationwide debate over literacy instruction – how to do it well, and how to help students recover from major shortfalls in test results – continues to be a major education focus among state governors.”

…

“Pay raises for educators”

“Lagging pay for teachers and other educators is a perennial issue in education policy, and it has come up often as governors have signaled K-12 priorities for the year.

“Charters and private school choice”

“Comments for and against private school choice programs like vouchers and education savings accounts have shown up in states where politicians have supported expanding those programs or want to limit them. Republican governors in Georgia, Nebraska, and South Carolina vowed to defend existing private school choice programs or establish new ones. Democrats leading Arizona and Kansas vowed to rein in private school choice programs or continue to oppose them altogether.”

“Three top-of-mind topics that haven’t come up much”

“School safety – Shootings in and around schools continue to be a major concern – but state governors, with some exceptions, haven’t addressed the issue much. ‘It tends not to be a statewide issue, both as a political and operational matter,’ Bloomfield said. Still, he’s surprised governors have largely talked about gun safety as a society-wide issue, without much focus on the devastating effects of guns in schools.”

“Artificial intelligence – The rapid emergence of sophisticated technology tools that obey commands is only beginning to transform how students learn and schools operate. Most states appear not to have developed coherent legislative solutions to thorny questions about the role AI tools should play in schools, Bloomfield said.”

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; book bans; and policies targeting transgender students: Despite heated political rhetoric over what literary content children should consume and experience in schools, and what rights LGBTQ+ students should have, even the most conservative governors haven’t devoted much time to these issues in speeches so far this year. ‘The damage has been done in many states already,’ Bloomfield said. Plus, ‘I think the page has turned on those issues as electoral winners.’”

Here’s a topic most governors never discuss during the State of the State addresses – learning.

Why is it all of our attention is on educational inputs – reading instruction, teacher pay, school choice, and the list goes on and on – and not on the educational output that is most important to all of us:

Are our kids getting smarter and stronger in their learning?

We’ve endured over 50 years of focusing on inputs, and for what?

Stagnant test scores, high absenteeism, and the lowest student engagement ever recorded.

Here’s wishing a governor some day steps to the microphone, in front of their state legislators and other political movers and shakers, and asked these three questions:

What do we want our kids to learn?

How will we know they learned it?

And what will we do if they don’t learn it?

That would put the focus where it should be – on learning. And then, everything flows from there.

There’s an old Stephen Covey principle – “begin with the end in mind” – that would serve us well in these days of debating and stewing over inputs that either haven’t made a difference in improving learner achievement or have turned into political “hot potatoes” between Republicans and Democrats.

The “end in mind” here is learning. Let’s not forget that.

Til tomorrow. SVB